Archive:Team - DoA Ritway
The DoA Ritway team build is very similar to the Team - DoA HM Searing Flames build, using the same tank, monks, and BiP necro but instead of elementalists with Searing Flames and a necromancer with Spiteful Spirit, there are 3 Ritualists that use Spirit Rift and Ancestor's Rage in combination with Attuned Was Songkai to deal higher, more spammable damage than Searing Flames. The use of Sympathetic Visage and Ancestors' Visage by one of the rits on the tank drains the enemy healers and casters of energy, so they can be spiked without any problems. Team Composition A Few Preceding Notes Threats to be aware of: * Margonite Anur Vus have several knockdowns; keep Dolyak up. * Margonite Anur Kayas carry Cry of Frustration and Power Leak, thus it is important that you cast OF while SB is still on you so they can't target you with said spells. * Margonite Anur Sus carry Gale, so once again be sure you've got dolyak and/or SB on before casting either enchantment or using your glyph. * Tortureweb Dryders carry Meteor Shower. * Greater Dream Riders carry Power Spike, Cry of Frustration, Shatter Enchantment and Power Block. These are by far the biggest threats to your casting spells and your bonds. Either SB or OF MUST be on the tank at all times against these. They have been known to strip 2 bonds in 1 second. Also, because they have shatter enchantment, let the rits know to not use ghostly haste * Anguish Titans don't interrupt, but they are known to disable your spells with Arcane Larceny and Arcane Thievery * Rage Titans are basically harmless to you, but in Foundry they often cast Churning Earth on the nukers. Due to their high levels and use of Enraged, the spell can kill all 3 nukers in 1 or 2 hits. Be sure to tell the rits when one of these pops up so they know to be cautious. * Misery Titans carry Earth Shaker, which knocks you down. * Spirit Tormentors carry Savage Shot, so if they are present use wary stance then glyph before casting any spells. * Mind Tormentors carry Power Drain. * Soul Tormentors carry Corrupt Enchantment. * Heart Tormentors carry Scourge Enchantment and Scourge Healing. These don't really threaten the tank, but if on the tank they will damage the HB and SB due to the healing from Seed of Life. If the tank has either one on him, he should have a rit cast convert hexes on him. * Sanity Tormentors carry Stunning Strike and Disrupting Throw. Stunning Strike dazes you as well as interrupts you, so be sure to use the Wary+Glyph combo while fighting these. * Earth Tormentors carry Rending Sweep. This would not normally be a threat, but if SB or OF is off for some reason and he gets hexed, the Earth Tormentors will proceed to strip all his bonds in mere seconds with it. Thus, against just about all groups in Ravenheart Gloom (Tormentor groups), the rits should use Convert Hexes on him whenever he gets hexed, no matter what the hex is. * Lastly (woohoo!), there are the Stygian Fiends that interrupt you like crazy (wary+glyph combo, again) and Stygian Hungers, who spam the crap out of Necromancer touch skills. These skills ignore your armor, bonds, and SB and OF, so against groups with Hungers the BiP should keep Symbiosis up, the HB should heal the tank of any damage he takes (Dwayna's Kiss and Ethereal Light are best, and heal party if needed), and the tank should keep endure pain up as much as possible in addition to his normal enchantments even if the group is 100% Hungers because them simply being on the tank will raise his hp higher thanks to Symbiosis. * NOTE: The life stealing from the touch skills doesn't even trigger seed! D: prof=warri/eleme earthm=12 streng=12+3+1 tactic=3+1of staminapainfleshsignetaurastanceof concentrationoptional/build * The optional slot should be filled with Grasping Earth if in Ravenheart Gloom or the Stygian Veil. * In City of Torc'qua, The Foundry of Failed Creations, or the Ebony Citadel of Mallyx, it should be filled with Ward Against Foes. Equipment: * A sword/axe/spear with +5 Energy and a 20% "of Enchanting" grip. This will give you extra energy and make all the Earth spells last longer on you. Rajazan's Fervor or the Totem Axe make great weapons for this build. * A set of an Earth Magic based wand and Focus item is optimal for energy. You may also prefer to carry a backup 15/-1 set to provide an extra energy boost in times of trouble. * 5 Radiant Insignias * Runes of Superior Strength and Minor Tactics, the highest Rune of Vigor you can afford, and 2 Runes of Attunement. Usage: * Maintain Signet of Stamina. * When your party is ready for you to pull a group or groups, call for SB from the SB monk (some prefer for you to cast Stoneflesh Aura as well). * Once SB is on you, run forward and aggro the group, then run to whatever wall you plan to pull to (not towards then party) and THEN run back towards the party along the wall. This will cause the enemies to go to the wall then follow you, so they are much less likely to "leak" around you and attack the casters. * If you get crippled, ask the ritualists to cast Extinguish. * If you're getting constantly knocked down and need to recast Stoneflesh Aura or cast OF, use Dolyak Signet. This makes the pull slower, but safer. * If for some reason SB gets close to ending while you're not almost at your tanking spot, cast Obsidian Flesh and then continue the pull. Just be sure to not get body-blocked. * Once at your spot, start casting and maintaining Dolyak Signet. If SB is still on you, wait until it gets about 2 seconds from ending and then cast OF. You should also maintain Stoneflesh Aura. * Be aware of any interrupters in the group you've pulled. If there are any, then before you cast OF and/or Stoneflesh Aura you should use Wary Stance to avoid any interrupting attacks immediately followed by Glyph of Concentration. Because this takes extra time, start the stance and glyph 3-5 seconds before SB ends to be sure you cast OF before it does. * Note: Unless you're fighting an enemy with Fingers of Chaos, the Glyph should not be interrupted by anything. Be sure you're keeping Dolyak up as well, to prevent knockdowns. * When the Ritualists start nuking, use Grasping Earth or Ward Against Foes (whichever you brought) to prevent the foes from running out of the blast radius. * Use Endure Pain if you get close to dying, or as you see fit. * Tip for experienced tanks: It is common that there is an inexperienced HB or SB monk in the party, or that the HB and SB don't coordinate their Seeds of Life well. Because of this, they may not be able to maintain Seed of Life perfectly. Watch the numbers that show up on your screen; when you stop seeing the blue numbers for healing and they stay away for more than a second or two, let the monks know that Seed isn't on. The Ritualists The MS/WoQ Ritualist prof=ritua/eleme spawni=2+1 commun=6+1 firema=11 channe=12+1+3of quickeningriftrageoptionalearthbindof sacrificeshowerof my flesh/build * The optional slot should be Deep Freeze, unless you are doing Foundry in which case you will need Mend Body and Soul. Equipment: * An Insightful HCT 20% for Communing/HSR 20% with any requirement and any Staff Wrapping. * Radiant Insignias * Runes of Vigor, Superior Channeling, Minor Communing, Minor Spawning Power, and Attunement. Usage: * Keep WoQ on yourself, and if you think you can, the SB monk as well during combat. * Once the tank is in his spot, there will most likely be several enemies that aren't adjacent to him. If possible (ask the party first), move up towards the tank along the wall he pulled to, cast spirit rift on the enemies that are adjacent to him (if none are, then cast it on the closest foe), and then run back. (Note: some people will call this "rubberbanding." If they ask you to rubberband, that's what they mean.) Keep repeating this until the foes move in. * Use Mend Body and Soul on anyone who needs it. It is mainly used for curing the snakes of cripple in Foundry, but can prove useful in the other areas as well. * Once the enemies are all adjacent to, or "on" the tank, let the rits know that it's time to nuke. Make sure you have WoQ on you, and cast Earthbind. Once earthbind is up, call a target (should be the closest Margonite Anur Ki or Heart Tormentor, if any. If not, target the center-most foe.) Once again make sure WoQ hasn't ended, and then cast glyph of sacrifice and then meteor shower, and unless you're fighting something that poses a threat to the rits, follow the shower up with spirit rift and ancestor's rage spamming (AR should be cast on the tank). * If a caster dies during combat, make sure you have WoQ on you and cast Glyph Sac then Flesh of My Flesh on them to instantly ressurect them. Be careful of the hp sacrifice, though. The AWS Ritualists The Empowered Channeler prof=ritua/monk spawni=12+1 channe=12+1+3 healin=3was songkairiftragestrikeempowermentoptionalhastechant/build * The optional slot should be Extinguish or Convert Hexes, depending on what your party prefers. Equipment: * An Insightful HCT Channeling 20% HSR 20% staff of enchanting with any requirement. * Radiant Insignias * Runes of Superior Channeling, Minor Spawning Power, Vigor, and 2 Runes of Attunement. Usage: Unlike the WoQ/MS rit, this rit has a much simpler job. * Maintain Ghostly Haste. * When preparing for a pull, start casting and maintaining empowerment and AWS. * When the WoQ/MS rit calls glyph of sacrifice, run up with him and spam spirit rift on the target and ancestor's rage on the tank. * Cast Channeled strike on any stragglers or if neither rift nor AR is recharged. Once the group dies, go back to simply maintaining Empowerment, AWS, and Ghostly Haste unless the party is moving to another spot. * During pulls, if the tank asks for extinguish, cast it. In Gloom, if the tank gets hexed, he should be converted immediately. Also, he and the party may ask for convert at certain times or ping that they have certain hexes on them; at these points convert them. * If a caster dies, resurrect them. The Visager prof=ritua/mesme spawni=11+1 channe=12+1+3 illusi=6 restor=2+1was songkairiftechoragevisagevisagehasteof my flesh/build Equipment: * Runes of Superior Channeling, Minor Spawning Power, Vigor, Minor Restoration Magic, and Attunement. Usage: * Maintain Ghostly Haste. * When preparing for a pull, the other AWS rit will cast Empowerment. Once it is up, cast and start maintaining AWS (Ghostly Haste allows you to do so). * If the tank is being attacked by meleers, switch between casting AV and SV on him. This will drain all foes adjacent to him of energy, and is particularly useful once the healers move up to the tank. * When the spike is called, cast arcane echo then spirit rift, and proceed to spam both rifts and ancestors' rage. * Due to the constant energy denial/knockdown of the healers, the group should go down in 10 seconds of casting or so. * If a caster dies, resurrect them. The SB Monk prof=monk/any divine=12+3+1 protec=12+1optionalbreakerof lifespiritbondaurabondrebirth/build * The optional slot can be anything, really. Most SB Monks bring Serpent's Quickness, Extinguish, or Convert Hexes. For Foundry, the optional slot MUST be Dismiss Condition. If you bring Serpent's Quickness, drop Protection Prayers to 10+1 and raise Wilderness Survival to 8. Equipment: * Any staff, so long as it has 20% HSR and 20% Enchanting. * Radiant Insignias. * Runes of Superior Divine Favor, Minor Protection Prayers, Vigor, and 2 Runes of Attunement. Usage: * Cast and maintain life bond on the tank when you first enter the area. It should stay on him for the whole run, so reapply it if it drops. * Maintain Blessed Aura. * Before the tank goes to pull, he will ask for SB. When he does, cast SB (or Serpent's Quickness then SB, if you brought it) on him and then be sure he stays on your radar while he pulls so that the life bond doesn't drop. * Once the tank aggros a group, cast seed of life on the HB monk. When it ends on him/her, he/she will cast seed on you. When it ends on you, cast it on him/her again, etc. Keep this up until the whole pulled group is dead. * If any casters take damage, even if it's a little, put Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond on them. Also, when the WoQ/MS rit runs up to rubberband enemies, be sure you cast prot spirit on him. If monks and rits are taking damage, prot the monks first (including yourself). * If your brought Convert Hexes or Extinguish, use it as needed by the tank or party members. * If a caster dies, cast Rebirth on them but only if the rits can't resurrect them. You need your energy. * If the tank dies and enemies start attacking the rest of the party, run and have 1 person (preferably one of the AWS rits) stand still so the enemies attack him while the rest of the party gets away. Once the aggro has broken, start casting Rebirth on people. The HB Monk prof=monk/necro divine=12+1 healin=12+3+1 deathm=3kisslightof lifepartyboonoptionalbondrebirth/build * The optional slot should be Necrotic Traversal for Foundry (and Veil, if your party plans to teleport into the trench). Otherwise, it should be Healing Seed. If you bring healing seed, drop the points in death magic and put them all in protection prayers. Equipment: * A 20% HCT Healing Prayers/20% HSR staff of enchanting with any staff head. Insightful is recommended. * Radiant Insignias. * Runes of Superior Healing Prayers, Minor Divine Favor, Vigor, Attunement, and either a Rune of Minor Protection Prayers if you bring Healing Seed or a second Rune of Attunement if you bring NT. Usage: * Cast and maintain Life Bond on the tank. It will need to stay on for the whole run, so if it drops recast it. * Cast Healer's Boon and keep it up throughout battles. * Once the tank aggros a group, the SB monk will cast seed of life on you. When it ends on you, cast it back on the SB monk. When it ends on him/her, he/she will cast it back on you, etc. If done correctly, Seed of life should be constantly healing the party during combat. (Life bond is what makes this work so be sure to recast it on the tank if it drops) * If not in foundry, casting Healing Seed on the tank can sometimes make foes move closer to him, making them easier to rubberband/nuke. Healing Seed can also be used as a general heal on anyone. * Use Dwayna's Kiss and Ethereal Light for spike heals. Note the effect Dwayna's Kiss has on enchanted/hexed allies, as this spell may be more worth casting on allies than Ethereal Light at times they are heavily enchanted or hexed. * If several people are taking damage and Seed of Life isn't healing them quickly enough, use Heal Party. * If in Foundry, the BiP will kill his pet outside the room you are entering by the gate to the room. Once everyone is in the room the gate will close, and you should NT back to the pet immediately. Some people in the party will then sacrifice themselves; they need to be rebirthed into the room you NTed into. * If using the trench in Veil, you are the way into it. The party will first kill off a few groups in the trench from the mainland. Once that area of the trench is clear of foes, NT one of the enemy corpses in it, being careful not to aggro the enemies on either side of the trench. The party will then get killed on the side of the trench by a group of darknesses (except the tank), so you should then rebirth them into the trench. * If a caster dies and the rits can't resurrect them or more than 1 is dead, rebirth them. Don't use rebirth if the party needs healing though, because it will drain all your energy. Instead, leave the rebirthing to the other monks. * While the tank pulls, be sure he stays on your radar so life bond doesn't drop. Recast it if it ever drops, because it's the source of your energy and seed of life's healing. The Bonder prof=monk/mesme divine=10+3 inspir=10 protec=11+3+1barrierbondspiritattunementblessingsignetof inscriptionsrebirth/build Equipment: * An insightful 20% HCT Protection Prayers/20% HSR staff of enchanting, defense, mastery, or fortitude. * Radiant Insignias. * Runes of Superior Protection Prayers, Superior Divine Favor, Vigor, and 2 Runes of Attunement. Usage: * When the party first enters the area the HB and SB monks will cast life bond on the tank. Once they have, proceed to cast all 5 enchantments on him/her in the following order: Barrier, Bond, Balth's, Attunement, Vital. Have the BiP necro cast BiP on you to help you cast the bonds faster. * Maintain Mantra of Inscriptions, and use blessed signet whenever it recharges to keep your energy up. * Cast and maintain Balth's on the HB monk, SB monk, and yourself. * Cast and maintain Life Barrier on the 3 rits. * Balth's will make maintaining the 11 bonds extremely easy during combat, but outside of combat, you may need bipping. If you feel uncomfortable with the bip necro or your own capabilities, drop the barriers on the rits between fights and then recast them while the tank pulls. * Be sure that while the tank pulls, he stays on your radar. You may need to move up to keep him on it. * If the tank and SB aren't perfectly coordinated or SB gets interrupted or disabled (usually this happens in the 3rd room of Foundry), the tank may lose some bonds. If this happens, recast them ASAP. Also, if someone dies, be sure to recast whatever bonds they should have when they're alive again. The BiP Necro prof=necro/range bloodm=9+1+3 beastm=12 soulre=8+3is powerrenewalritualsymbiosisof extinctionoptionaloptionaloptional/build * For Foundry, fill the optional slots with Charm Animal (be sure you have a pet), Comfort Animal, and either Sunspear Rebirth Signet or Brambles (party preference). * For any other area, fill them with Brambles, Sunspear Rebirth Signet, and Resurrection Signet. Equipment: * An Insightful 20/20 Blood Magic Staff of Enchanting. * Radiant Insignias. * Runes of Superior Blood Magic, Superior Soul Reaping, and 3 other Superior Necromancer runes of your choice. Your maximum Health should be 105. Usage: * You should never be near enemy range. If there are leaks, get as far back away from them as you can, but don't go off the wall or line that your party is using to position the tank and aggro. If not doing Foundry: * When you enter the area, cast BiP on someone until you die. You will be resurrected. Do this again and you will now need to be resurrected with resurrection chant because your max hp will be 1, allowing you to cast BiP without any penalty. * Stay in the back of the group, about where the bonder stays. * The bonder will probably ask to be BiPed while casting the bonds, so do as he/she says. BiP anyone else that asks for it during party preparation. * When bipping the bonder, cast BiP AND Blood Ritual. This will get the bonder 1 energy regen if they have 11 bonds on, and more if they have less bonds on. * When the party is ready for the tank to pull, start casting and maintaining your spirits (except for Symbiosis if there are Misery, Rage, or Dementia Titans). * BiP anyone that asks for BiP while the tank pulls or at any time for that matter throughout the run. During combat, maintain BiP on each of the rits and BiP any monk that asks for it. Occasionally, the tank will need BiP as well, specifically when he's just been resurrected. Be careful not to spam it though, because this will waste your energy. * In City, you have to be very careful about how often you use BiP due to the Area Effect: Repressive Energy, which makes you lose 2 energy every time you attack or use a skill. Thus it is very important that you not bip a ritualist that already has it, and only cast monks who ask for it. Even worse, the Margonite Anur Tuks (of which there are quite a few) use Quickening Zephyr, which combined with Repressive Energy makes you end up losing 9 energy per cast of bip. They ALSO use Famine, which deals damage to anyone who hits 0 energy. Because you're at 1 health, if your energy hits 0 you instantly die. So basically, if you've got 9 or less energy and cast bip when QZ and Famine are up, you die. So in case you haven't gotten the concept yet, be EXTREMELY careful about how often you bip in City. If doing Foundry: * Bipping in foundry carries the same basic concept as bipping elsewhere. There are 2 key differences. For one, the area effect is that each player loses 10 health each second that they're moving. So basically, once you get to 1 health, if you move you die. The way to deal with this is 1 of 2 things: a. Bring along a second set of armor that doesn't have all superior runes, so that you can switch to it when you need to move. b. Have the bonder cast Vital Blessing on you when you need to move, as it will increase your hp above 10. * Whether you use the first method or the second, be sure to cast blood renewal before moving as well. The regen will practically completely heal the 10 hp loss due to your still low health. * In case you didn't get this, you'll periodically need to re-sacrifice yourself to keep your DP high so that your health stays at 1. The high levels of the enemies in DoA give high amounts Experience points so you lose around 15 dp per group killed. For this reason, many people find it best to get to 60 DP before each fight so that their health is nearly guaranteed to stay at 1. If you don't do it that way (which I recommend because having 60 DP gives you much lower max energy), just watch your health and if it jumps above 1 during a fight, don't sac yourself. Instead, use blood renewal and it should counter the sacrifices from bip. * Lastly, the second key difference in foundry is that you have a pet. Have it die (it will eventually just from moving around because of the area effect) right by where the gate will come up but not inside the room your group is going into. Once it's dead and in the right place, go in the room with the group. Once the enemies in the room spawn, the HB monk will NT to the pet's corpse and everyone should sac themselves by the gate so that he/she can rebirth them into the previous room. This way the casters are as safe as possible from the enemies, and completely untouchable by meleers. Variants * The Empowered channeler can drop channeled strike so that he/she may bring both extinguish and convert hexes. * The builds for the monks can be altered slightly, as there is a vast variety of skills that people have used for them. The builds shown here are simply the ones that the creators feel work best. Notes * The skill bars for the monks listed here are variants that the creators of the build found to be more effective than the ones commonly used. If you want to post a different variant of the builds, please place it in the variants section. Team - DoA Ritway